jackwagner

I'm a little late to this party, but here's my $.02: I've had a Helix Rack for a year or so. I use it as a preamp and send the output to a Carvin DCM3000L power amp and then to an Ampeg 810e speaker cab. I use it for live sound only, no recording. I setup my presets to have a separate output path that can be sent to FOH. Sometimes the sound guy just gets the same feed I send to my power amp and he's ok with that; other times they want a separate feed so I can tweak the eq that I send to them. I play in loud metal/rock bands, mostly tributes to Rush, Iron Maiden, and Godsmack. I have experimented with setting up presets for a DAW, but that's not how I use the Helix. I normally find that the Woody Blue (Acoustic 360) is the best starting point for the tone I want. I've tried others, but this one seems to work best for me. I also use a free IR that I downloaded from the web site "Studio Nord Bremen" called "Ampeg V4-B_TE_sm7.wav". That combination works well for me. And, yes, I use an IR even though I run into a real speaker cab. To me, the sound is way too boxy and wimpy without the IR. See my response above for what I use. I have found that setting up a preset for live sound is much more difficult than for headphones and/or DAW. And I haven't been successful with getting a good bass tone with the built-in amp and cab blocks. Without an IR, my results have been very poor, boxy and wimpy sounding. Possibly the Quilter Bass Block 800?? --jack

I use a small rolling suitcase as a gig bag for cables and such. The controller fits nicely in there. --jack

For that tone, I would start with the Woody Blue (Acoustic 360) bass amp. Add the Obsidion 7000 (Darkglass B7K) before it but don't add too much gain. You will also probably want to use an IR instead of one of the built in cabs. YMMV, --jack

Here's a pic of the preset I used to test the Pitch Wham. I started with an empty preset and added just the Pitch Wham. --jack

I will do that next time I'm working on it. Pry in a few days. Ghost note. Hmm. I first noticed it and band rehearsal, where I could hear the original note in the PA. All of my troubleshooting was done at bedroom volume tho. I will try again keeping that in mind. Thanks for all the feedback, --jack

I have a preset that uses the Pitch Wham. It doesn't behave the way that I expect or the way that I've seen it used in some videos. The issue is that I can hear the original pitch, even when I set the Mix to 100%. In trouble shooting, I started with an empty preset and added only the Pitch Wham block. I connect my bass to the Guitar In and connect a cable from the 1/4" Out L/Mono connector to a combo amp. I have a Helix Rack and Control, but for this test, I disconnected the Control. On the Pitch Wham block, I set Position to 100, Heel Pitch to 1, Toe Pitch to 1, Mix to 100. When I play a note, I can hear the original pitch and the shifted pitch. Firmware version 2.30. Any ideas? --jack

I upgraded to 2.30 when it first came out and I've been using this preset since then without issue. --jack

Snapshot 1 did not work properly when I got it back home. BUT, that could have been an artifact of some of the troubleshooting I did at the gig. I fixed that snapshot and all is well at home. I really don't know what to make of this. But for now, the band is on the back burner, so I don't have a need for snapshots with my other bands. On to other issues (Pitch Wham)... --jack

I use XLR left (Bass) for my on stage monitor. XLR right (Bass) goes to FOH via a DI box. The 1/4" output is the "guitar". I made sure that the cables were plugged in properly. What I did to "fix" it was to set the volume of Path 2A to 0 (that's the 1/4" Left output) and did without the simulated "guitar". I'm really not sure what happened. I use this preset for rehearsals without issue. --jack

What I mean is that when I switch from snapshot 1 to 4, for example, I can still hear the output from the XLRs. I expected to get signal just from the 1/4" out. Other snapshot configurations didn't work as expected either. For example, snapshot 1 should be bass only, but I could still hear the guitar. I don't know what the global EXP setting is. Haven't touched it. I don't have an expression pedal (Rack module and Control). --jack

I had a gig on Friday and my Helix Rack/Control let me down. I use just 1 preset with this particular band and switch between 4 snapshots. Here's an overview of my preset: Path 1A: Guitar In -> Distortion -> Amp -> IR -> EQ-> Volume -> XLR Left Output (Bass guitar to Stage Monitor) Path 1B: (via SPLIT from Path 1A after IR) -> EQ-> Volume -> XLR Right Output (Bass guitar to FOH via DI box) Path 2A: Guitar In -> Pitch Wham -> Amp -> IR -> Volume -> 1/4" Output (Guitar to FOH via DI box) Path 2B: (via SPLIT from Path 2A before Pitch Wham): -> Pitch Wham -> Merge back to path 2A before Amp The 4 snapshots are: Snap 1 = Paths 1A and 1B are active Snap 2 = Paths 1A, 1B, 2A are active Snap 3 = Paths 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B are active Snap 4 = Paths 2A and 2B are active I have used this preset in this configuration for about a month at rehearsals with no issues. But at the gig, none of the snapshots worked properly. When I booted the Helix my desired preset was selected. I switched to a different preset then back and snapshot 1 seemed to work. At least for a little while. It seemed to get stuck in Snapshot 3 mode where all paths were active. I didn't have a lot of time to troubleshoot there so I just adjusted it to Snap 1 mode and left it. I really have no idea what happened. As far as I can tell, it was connected the same way I do it at rehearsal. --jack

What version of the firmware does your unit have? --jack

I checked my preset last night looking for parallel output paths or duplicate output blocks. It all looks good to me. I'm going to chalk this issue up an a Helix bug and report it. --jack

When my preset is setup to use the XLR outputs, it behaves the way that I expect. The signal that I expect on the Left XLR is the Bass guitar tone; the Right XML is the pitch shifted tone. But when I use the 1/4" outputs, I get both tones in the 1/4" Left output and just the (expected) pitch shifted tone on the 1/4" Right output. I don't think there are any parallel paths or duplicate output blocks - I will check again. After reading your reply again...I'm pretty sure that both Path 1A and 2A on my preset are MONO signals. Perhaps that is part of the issue? --jack

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks! --jack

I'm seeing some weird behavior with a preset that I created regarding the use of the 1/4" OUTs and how they are panned. In my preset, I have the Output block of Path 1A assigned to 1/4" OUT and I pan it hard left in the Output block (Left 100). I have the Output block of Path 2A assigned to the 1/4" OUT and I pan it hard right in the Output block (Right 100). I expect to have only the output from Path 1A being output to the 1/4" L/MONO connector and only the output from Path 2A on the 1/4" RIGHT connector. I connect the 1/4" Left output to a BASS amp; I connect the 1/4" Right output to a PA. The issue is that the 1/4" L/MONO OUT has the signal from Path 1A AND the signal from Path 2A. I don't know if Line 6 did this intentionally because of the way the 1/4" Left output is labeled L/Mono or if this is a bug. FWIW, the 1/4" RIGHT output behaves as I expect, meaning only the signal on Path 2A is present. In order to prevent Path 2A from being present on the 1/4" LEFT OUT, I have to insert a PAN block on Path 2A and pan hard right. That would be fine, except that I'm out of blocks on that Path. FWIW, I don't see this same type of behavior when I use the XLR OUTs. Anyone know if this is normal or a bug? [EDIT]: I forgot to mention that I have a Helix RACK. Thanks, --jack

In my case, the Helix Rack screen goes blank. And you are right that this does not apply to the OP. I was just replying to hollis1003's post about the power cord being an issue. I have had the issue with the bass being set to 0 causing diminishing volume on a preset with a Mesa Cali bass amp. Hopefully that will be fixed in the next firmware release. --jack

I have definitely been having this problem with my Helix Rack. I've had the Helix go dead a couple of times - luckily at rehearsal only. I traced it to the power cord. At first I thought it was the end that attaches to the Helix, but I think it's the 3 prong end that inserts into the power outlet. In my case, I use a Furman SS-6B power strip/surge block for convenience since I no longer have room in my rack for a power conditioner, so that may be part of the problem too. I haven't fully sorted out my problem, but it definitely related to the power cord/source. Something worth checking out. --jack

Well, I'm a BASS player. I usually just use 1 preset for each band that I play with. I set the preset before we start and leave it. The Rack is great for this and simplifies my gear (no more pedal boards or other stuff). I'm working on a new project and I want to be able to change one or 2 things dynamically. I was hoping to save some $$ and use some gear that I already had, but it makes more sense to use the Helix Control. But it's another piece of gear to lug, setup, etc. Got it, thanks! --jack

I spent some time over the weekend on this...For the Volume Block, the EXP TOE SWITCH didn't even come up as an optional controller. I'm not sure if that's normal, but my foot switch isn't going to work for that. Instead I tried a Roland EV-5 expression pedal. That didn't work well either. It would control the volume block, but it didn't work as I expected. In the heel down position, it would result in volume 0 as expected. As I progressed to toe down, the volume would go up to about 50, then go down to about 9 and stay there at toe down. I tried various settings (ie, polarity, EXP1, EXP2, EXP3), but nothing seemed to change. Ultimately, I decided to buy a Helix Control, which hopefully will do everything that I need. --jack

Perfect. I have a Boss foot switch (https://www.boss.info/us/products/fs-5u_5l/) which I would prefer to use over an expression pedal. I image my preset would have a path, 1B, that would have all of the effects that I want and end with a volume block before it merges back into path 1A. Can I use that foot switch connected to the EXP TOE SWITCH input to control that volume block to essentially disable path 1B? --jack

I'm a fairly new Helix Rack user (a few months)...I read the manual and did a forum search already, but didn't find an answer... I don't understand how one would use the EXP TOE SWITCH input. What can be connected to that input? Is it TS, TRS? A little more background...I have a Helix Rack but DO NOT have the Helix Control. I'm a bass player and have never used a wah or volume pedal. But I'm creating a preset where I would like to add a volume block and use an external switch or expression pedal to control the volume. I really just need the volume to be either 0 or 100 which I why I'm trying to understand the EXP TOE SWITCH input and determine if it's usable for what I want to do. TIA, --jack

What kind of amps/cabs and such are you using? I play bass and I'm going to make a preset that outputs the bass on one path and a guitar tone on another. I figured that on the guitar path I would use a pitch shifter to increase the pitch by an octave, then add a guitar amp/cab/distortion. That, in theory, gives me a guitar tone. I will also try adding a harmonizer to add a 5th. That, again in theory, would give me a root/5th guitar chord that matches the bass' root note. Seems like a lot of Godsmack guitar stuff is pretty simple like that. I'm concerned about how well the guitar part will track the bass, especially since the bass will be tuned to drop D and drop C. Anyone try it? --jack

I know this is an old thread, BUT... Thanks for the info on how the remove and replace the input jack. That was very helpful. I ordered a replacement part from Full Compass last week. The replacement was PLASTIC like the stock piece not metal as indicated on their web site. I installed it anyway but still would like to get a METAL replacement. Also does anyone know what size the 4 screws are that on the back of the TBP12? I know that you need a torx T6 to remove them. --jack

I have had a similar issue. I have noticed that they are a bit tight when inserting them, but are much looser when removing immediately after use. I have been able to use pliers to grip the tip of one of the batteries and remove it. Other than that, you will have to open it up. It's not that hard, just remove the 4 small screws. --jack